Have You Seen Me?

by Whatsblem the Pro

Burner Photographer Peter Gordon -- PHOTO: Dave Earl

Burner Photographer Peter Gordon — PHOTO: Dave Earl

Peter Gordon is a well-respected playa photographer who has won a slew of accolades for his work, especially in his native Ireland and in the broader world of European fine art photography. Peter is perhaps best known among burners for his work documenting the 2011 Temple of Transition, and his latest project will bring that work to the coffee table and the world. Thus spake the photographer himself:

“The book is called Life and Death – The Temple, and it’s the first time there has ever been a specific photography project on the Temple. The story is told through the Temple of Transition, but the work is about more than an individual Temple. It’s about the concept, it’s about our need to grieve, our need for companionship. It’s about life and death, as expressed through the Temple. The idea is to give a genuine photographic document of the Temple experience. So far the work is going down really well with a host of awards for some of the sweeping wide angle images.

“It’s going to be a hardback coffee table finish printed here in Ireland. An interview of David Best by James ‘Irish’ Horkan (of the International Arts Megacrew, the team that built the Temple of Transition) will serve as the foreword for the book. I’m hoping to launch the project in late September with an exhibition in Ireland, and then take it to the U.S. on tour.”

There’s just one little fly in Peter Gordon’s ointment, and you can help: he needs to identify burners in several photographs intended for the book, so that he can ask them for permission to use their images commercially.

Do you know any of the people in these photos? If you do, please ask them to contact Peter Gordon either by e-mail, or via Facebook.

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know this person?

Do you know this person?

Do you know this person?

Do you know this person?

Do you know this person?

Do you know this person?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

Do you know these people?

In August of 2013, I asked Peter Gordon for some background on his work. This was his response:

“My first love as a photographer was landscape photography. What really got me hooked was hanging out in the Wicklow mountains, just south of Dublin, watching the Sun go down or waiting for it to come up. You could say I got a little obsessed; so much so that I spent the next five years rambling around Wicklow shooting with an old film camera on a 6×7 format. I managed to create a book and exhibition around my experience, called Wild Garden. I had exhibited in a range of shows before but this was my first big body of work in terms of something that I felt was really complete, and also as something that got great media coverage and generated a successful exhibition.

“I’ve done other landscape projects since, and I’m still crazy for the great outdoors. I’ve always had a love for both documentary photography and Burning Man, so it seemed logical to try and merge those two loves at some point. Life and Death – the Temple became my first major documentary photography project.

“After mixing things up with my style a bit at the end of 2011, I started to get lots of great recognition for my work, both in terms of landscape and the documentary imagery I had created at Burning Man. I managed to win Irish and European Professional Photographer of the Year which was really amazing.
I’m incredibly excited to try and put this Temple book and exhibition together; I think the work tells a genuinely interesting story. I’d love to see it travel from Ireland to the U.S. and beyond.

“I won’t be able to make it out to the desert this year, but can’t wait to come back in 2014 to soak up the atmosphere and make some fresh imagery.”

THE TEMPLE: Life and Death with Peter Gordon

by Whatsblem the Pro

The Temple of Transition, Burning Man 2011 -- Photo by Peter Gordon

The Temple of Transition, Burning Man 2011 — Photo by Peter Gordon

Peter Gordon is an award-winning photographer based in Ireland, where he’s been working full-time as an art photographer for the last seven years. Gordon studied history and politics, but said goodbye to all that so that he could indulge the avid interest in photography he acquired from working with his father, photographer Ed Gordon. “I got hooked,” says Peter, “and there was no turning back.”

Inside the Temple -- Photo: Peter Gordon

Inside the Temple — Photo: Peter Gordon

Gordon has not just won awards for his Burning Man images, he has won the most prestigious photography awards in Europe for them, including European Photographer of the Year, and a European Reportage Golden Camera from the Federation of European Photographers. In 2013, Peter Gordon was named Irish Professional Photographer of the Year, Landscape Photographer of the Year, and Pictorial and Travel Photographer of the Year by the Irish Professional Photographers Association, while his work took Best Single Image in both the Landscape, and the Travel and Pictorial categories.

Peter Gordon’s latest project focuses on the Temple of Transition at Burning Man 2011, which has been widely regarded as the best Burning Man Temple to date. Mr. Gordon kindly agreed to tell me all about it.

Whatsblem the Pro: Peter, I understand you’ve got a book project in the works. Can you tell me about it, please?

Peter Gordon: That’s right. ‘Life and Death – The Temple‘ will be an exhibition and book of fine art photography of the Temple of Transition. It’s not just about the Temple of Transition as a structure; it’s about the Temple experience. It’s about capturing the essence of a poignant spiritual experience in the incredibly beautiful surroundings of the Black Rock Desert. The imagery shows that we’re all human beings; we all celebrate life, we all mourn death. We do it in different ways, but the project is saying: Look, here’s a way that people are dealing with very deep problems: loss and separation, death, and celebrating the most important elements of their lives as well, like marriage. And WOW is it working for them! When the project is released fully in late September, you will see these themes of Life and Death in people’s expressions and experiences at the Temple, in the building itself, and of course on the canvas of the Temple walls.

Photo: Peter Gordon

Photo: Peter Gordon

Whatsblem the Pro: Is this a solo project, or are there other people involved?

Peter Gordon: The IAM crew, especially James Diarmaid Horkan – aka ‘Irish’ — are the only other people directly involved with the project. They built the Temple that I’m telling the story through. I was an IAM crew member on the Temple build, so we’re bound together by friendship, common experience, and a set of (hopefully) iconic images.

Whatsblem the Pro: How did you find out about Burning Man?

Peter Gordon: In 2011 I was part of the fundraising drive to build the Temple of Transition. ‘Irish’ is an old friend of mine from the motherland here in Ireland, and when the IAM crew got the go-ahead to build the 2011 Temple, Irish asked me to get involved. I jumped at the chance to get back to the desert!

The idea was to give crowdfunding supporters of the Temple a chance to own a limited-edition fine art print of a photograph of the structure. The reward seemed to go down well with donators, so I got myself on a plane across the Atlantic from Ireland and hit Burning Man.

Whatsblem the Pro: What do you hope to achieve with ‘Life and Death – the Temple?’

Peter Gordon: Initially, my goal was simply to fulfill the fine art print reward through a series of drop-dead beautiful images of the Temple. As I spent more time at the Temple, the project began to evolve in my mind. I could see the real – and very positive – impact the Temple experience was having on the people taking part, and I was struck by the very serious process that so many people were going through. I had never seen the Temple story told fully through a documentary photography project, and just felt compelled to tell it. The process involved a fair amount of deep sadness, but also incredible joy and ultimately catharsis.

Photo: Peter Gordon

Photo: Peter Gordon

Whatsblem the Pro: I know what you mean. I’m not a person who cries easily or often, but the Temple of Transition at dawn, and all the things people had written on those walls, had me weeping openly.
What kind of support are you looking for to bring this project home?

Peter Gordon: I’m trying to get people involved with the project through the Kickstarter campaign, which I’m hoping will raise enough money to print a 112-page coffee table book, and pay for design services and a launch space in Dublin. I’m planning to bring the project to the US as well, so I’m actively seeking spaces where that can happen.

Whatsblem the Pro: Where can we get more information?

Peter Gordon: If people want a bit more info about the project and me, they should check out my website or my Facebook page.

Whatsblem the Pro: How can we donate or otherwise get involved?

Peter Gordon: People can get involved through my Kickstarter campaignWe have some really cool swag on offer as rewards, including Temple screen savers, the coffee table book, and fine art prints.

Whatsblem the Pro: Thanks, Peter, and good luck. I’m looking forward to showing that book off on my own coffee table!

Peter Gordon: Thank you.